MTU Fort Worth MRO Hub Expansion Unveiled, $120 Million Investment

en.Wedoany.com Reported - MTU Aero Engines has completed the expansion and officially inaugurated its maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) hub in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. The facility, with a total investment of $120 million, now spans 43,000 square meters (approximately 463,000 square feet). The company also announced that the first CFM International Leap-1B engine has arrived at the plant and will provide maintenance services for long-term customer GOL Linhas Aéreas.

MTU, renowned for its close collaboration with Pratt & Whitney, is a risk-sharing partner on the International Aero Engines V2500 and its successor, the Geared Turbofan (GTF). Depending on the variant, MTU holds up to an 18% share in the GTF, responsible for producing the low-pressure turbine and the first four stages of the high-pressure compressor. In the MRO sector, this segment contributes over two-thirds of MTU's revenue. The company has recently been aggressively expanding its presence in the CFM aftermarket and seeks to enhance its partnership capabilities with GE Aerospace, which co-owns CFM with France's Safran Aircraft Engines.

The Fort Worth hub is one of MTU's eight global MRO sites and the only one to achieve CFM's "Premier" certification, the highest level of authorization from the engine manufacturer. This certification allows MTU to perform full overhauls and internal repairs on Leap and CFM56 engines. MTU plans to welcome its first Leap-1A engine, used on the Airbus A320neo family, to Fort Worth soon, though the company did not disclose details of customer negotiations. MTU estimates the global Leap market will be three times the size of the CFM56, with annual shop visits potentially reaching up to approximately 8,000 by 2045. The company also plans to expand Fort Worth's authorization scope to include GE Aerospace's GEnx engine, which competes with the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 on the Boeing 787, by 2029.

MTU CEO Johannes Bussmann stated that Fort Worth will become a cornerstone supporting the strategy for large-scale next-generation engine programs. Bussmann, who succeeded Lars Wagner in September, previously served as head of Lufthansa Technik. MRO is MTU's fastest-growing business segment, with approximately two-thirds of shop visits coming from V2500/GTF engines and one-third from the CFM/GE series. In terms of workload value, the ratio is nearly 50-50, as MTU performs complex repairs on GE engines, such as the GEnx turbine center frame. MTU is the second-largest engine aftermarket service provider by annual shop visits, exceeding 1,400 visits per year, with a portfolio of manufacturer authorizations covering over 30 engine types. MTU's global MRO sites also include Hannover and Berlin in Germany, Zhuhai in China, as well as locations in Serbia, Canada, and Poland.

According to MTU's annual report, durability issues with the GTF have increased demand for its services, with the engine accounting for approximately 40% of the company's commercial maintenance revenue last year. The V2500, along with GE's GE90 and CF6-80, also remain significant contributors to its MRO turnover. In the military sector, MTU contributes to the development of power plants for the Airbus Defence & Space A400M and the Eurofighter Typhoon, and continues to manufacture engine components. The recent cancellation of the Franco-German-Spanish Next Generation Fighter (NGF) program has impacted the company's defense business. Bussmann stated at the Berlin ILA Air Show in June that the company is ready to move forward and collaborate with any European partner to develop a sixth-generation fighter engine, emphasizing that Berlin and Europe need this to maintain defense as well as industrial and technological sovereignty. MTU previously collaborated with Safran on the NGF under the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program. Bussmann stressed that the work of the European Military Engine Team, established in 2021, has not been wasted, and the associated intellectual property has been retained. The possibility of cooperation with Rolls-Royce (involved in the Global Combat Air Programme GCAP, a collaboration between the UK, Italy, and Japan) exists, but progress largely depends on the political level.

MTU has also expanded its product portfolio into the field of small turbojet engines for military unmanned aerial vehicles, acquiring Cologne-based startup AeroDesignWorks in April. The company, spun off from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in 2011, specializes in developing gas turbines with a thrust of approximately 90 pounds-force (about 400 Newtons). This acquisition follows MTU's purchase of motor supplier eMoSys in 2023, with the goal of establishing a family of drone engines and becoming a leading European supplier of this technology. In the realm of sustainable technology, MTU announced in early July the formation of a joint venture with Airbus to develop and commercialize hydrogen fuel cell propulsion systems, a collaboration based on a memorandum of understanding signed at last year's Paris Air Show.